Music Bank: Take One

So last Friday I finally got my butt down to Yeouido, where the KBS Broadcasting Station is located, to see Music Bank.

Now I have to precursor you guys on what it means to “see” Music Bank (or any other music show). Each artist/group has to do about 15-30 minutes of pre-recording before the live show, which starts at 6 pm (for Music Bank). The recordings start late morning and end before the live show. Each group that is performing that week, whether it be Super Junior or F.T. Island, or whoever else, has to pre-record their performance several times before the start of the live show, so that instead of rushing between set changes, some groups might not get to perform it live during the live show (I’m not sure who doesn’t get to perform…I might have to get back to you on that one).

Getting into the pre-recordings: It’s not hard to get into the pre-recordings. All you have to do is show up at the KBS Station about 2 hours before the start of pre-recording with a copy of the latest album of the group you want to see. You will almost always need this in order to get in. Go to the person in charge of the fan club (they will probably be wearing a badge that says they are fan club staff) and tell them you want to see the show. Show them your album, and they will collect your name and (in my case) write a number on your wrist. And then all you have to do is wait until the pre-recording starts, and then enter with everyone else :)

What to do in the pre-recording: The authorities say no photography or videos once you’re inside the KBS Building, and if you’re caught, you will probably be thrown out. They’re kind of strict about this. My friend, however, sneaked a picture inside the studio…so it is possible, if you’re sly enough. Fangirls (in my experience, a lot more girls than guys love kpop) are SO crazy. When I went to see Infinite, the girls around me were all screaming the members’ names at the top of their lungs, and waving incessantly, in the attempt to have the members wave and smile at them. And the fan chants during the actual pre-recording performances are so intense. Half the time my ears were bleeding from the fangirl screams. It’s like you’re at a sports match or something….maybe this is the sports culture of Korea :o

About the live show: I’ve never had any experience getting into the live show, and none of my friends have had either. For Music Bank, Music Core, and Inkigayo, there’s apparently some lottery system online for getting tickets. This most certainly requires a Korean social security number, which none of us have. There really must be another way to get tickets to the live show, but I just haven’t figure it out yet. I hear that Music Core is possible, but you’d have to get there really in the morning, and right now I don’t have that kind of patience. I will update later if I get any more information.

Now, finally let’s get to my experience!

So I got to the KBS Station via the National Assembly station on Line 9 (next to Yeouido). Unfortunately I don’t quite remember the exit I took right at this moment, but I will update with that information later. The KBS building is quite close to the subway, only about a 5-10 minute walk away. When you get to the KBS Station, make a right at the first intersection (after the traffic bars) and walk straight until you see a sign for KBS Hall (written in Korean), turn left, and walk up the stairs. It’s like an open space with a roof overhead, and the entrance to the recording studio is to the right. Find the fan club staff roaming around in that area.

This is what the place looked like when I got there (the entrance is actually on the left side of this picture):

And then once we started to line up, it looked like this:

And we waited a longer than I thought we would, actually. We were supposed to enter for Infinite at around 2:30 and I think we waited all the way until 4:10 pm…and I might’ve caught a cold, but it’s so worth it. INFINITE!!

And once we got in, I was so amazed. The studio was a lot smaller than I thought, but the set was beautiful! Really gorgeous. They were promoting Paradise, which I think is a great song. The choreography is really smooth, less intense than the Be Mine choreo, but great nonetheless. And the boys…well, they were a lot smaller than I thought they would be. They were sooo skinny, like malnutritioned kids from a third world country. Yes, I did just have to make that comparison. They looked exactly the same as they did on camera, so that was a happy surprise. Myungsoo looked really tired, so he was the only one who was not really waving back at us, but all the others were really enthusiastic at waving and smiling at us. It was a really good experience. I really didn’t want it to end, but sure enough, after 3 takes, the security guards were ushering us out the door. They were a bit rude about it too, but oh well.

Afterwards, we went to Handel & Gretel, which is the little cafe owned by Yesung (from Super Junior)’s parents. It’s right outside the main KBS gate – you cannot miss it. It was beyond adorable, but it was tiny as hell. We had to sit outside in the cold >___< Here are some pictures of the place.

And there’s the conclusion of my first attempt at going to Music Bank! I will actually be going back again this week, and seeing if I can get any more information. Hope this was helpful and I love reading comments, so please do comment below!

7 Comment(s)

Hello, I was searching on how to watch Music Bank and got here. I think you meant “KBS” for all the “SBS” mentions in this post. I was a little confused as I had gone to Inkigayo before, and it wasn’t near Yeouido. Later I realised you were writing about Music Bank. So – KBS. And I remembered Handel and Gretel being opposite KBS too.

Haven’t gone yet! I wanted to watch EXO-K but their performance on Music Bank was cancelled last week.
Ahh! I’m still considering whether or not to buy Infinite’s new album…
Anyway EXO-K is slightly more urgent to see now, since they’ve already been promoting for a long time. But they’re not going to be on Music Bank again this coming Fri. Last Sat I tried Music Core, but failed. EXO was only going to be on the live show and VERY FEW seats were given to EXO fans. Practically no one got in. :(

hey! i actually like infinite alot but there’s no way i can find out about their schedules :( do you happen to know any sites which I can at least take a look at? thanks for sharing this music bank experience!! (:

I don’t know of any specific websites that provide Infinite’s schedule, but Twitter can sometimes give good information on schedules (fans tweet them). If you can read Korean, you should try searching “인피니트” too, on top of “Infinite”.

Bucket List in Seoul

Stay out until 5:30 AM, when the subway reopensAttend the KoYon Jeon (고연전)
Go to Namsan Tower
Try every coffee shop chain in Seoul
Go to the Han River Successfully bargain in KoreanHave a conversation only in KoreanGo to a LanguageCastmeetingGo to a music program pre-recordingAttend a live music programRide a rented bike at Seoul Forest/YeoidoCome within arms-length distance of a kpop star :)Go to Seoul Color ParkGo to Heyri Art Valley